Tweed Shire Council has had to renew an appeal to motorists to keep their cool if they are delayed at roadworks following the third reported incident of motorist aggression and assault of Tweed road workers this year.
The latest incident, in which a driver drove at and hit a traffic controller on Morton Street, Chinderah, on Monday May 11, has been reported to police along with the vehicle’s registration number.
Last month, a vehicle drove at and nudged a traffic controller working on the Blackspot Program on Kyogle Road. And, in March, a motorist stopped and verbally abused a traffic controller on the Blackspot Program on Tweed Valley Way behind Tumbulgum Village.
Tweed Council says it has details of the vehicle involved in the Kyogle Road incident and photographic evidence of the Tweed Valley Way incident, together with a report from the motorist following the abusive driver. These are also being followed up with police.
At a meeting of Northern NSW councils in Grafton last week, the Roads & Maritime Authority reported an escalation in road rage incidents against road workers.
Tweed GM Troy Green said there are a lot of roadworks happening in the shire at the moment ‘so it should not be a surprise to any motorist that you might encounter a stop / slow flagman and a short delay wherever you are travelling’.
‘We work to keep any delay to less than five minutes but on major construction or repair jobs this is not always possible. Still, there is no excuse for abuse,’ he added
‘Any motorist who assaults a roadworker can expect to be charged and prosecuted because it’s simply not on. Traffic controllers are out there doing their jobs keeping road users safe. They deserve to go home to their families at the end of their shifts just like every other worker,’ Mr Green said.
In August last year, a 43-year-old man from Terragon was fined $500 and placed on a 12-month good-behaviour bond after pleading guilty to a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after a road worker was injured on Tyalgum Road, Eungella, in November 2016.
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